SOUL TO GO

A-KO: Soul ’69

Both also available on Loose Joints (Carhartt, 2004).

This mix-CD crossed my path recently and hey, I love being put up on new music from noteworthy artists (duh). Just thought I’d share two of my fave tracks from it.

A-Ko is scary. I mean, dude is like…11? Ok, he’s really 17 but does it really matter? When I was 17, I was working food service at Magic Mountain, ok? I was driving a busted ass Chevy Citation, rocking an AM car radio with only one speaker, which was blown out anyways. I was not making ill funk-collage tracks in my bedroom and then pressing them on 7″. I think I might hate him. Just a little bit.

I first saw Damn! at an Ikea grand opening in Emeryville where they played their fusion of Latin/Afro-Beat/Hip-Hop/Psych grooves next to the hot dog and soft serve stand. Ok, that’s not really true but Damn! is from the land o’ Ikea (Sweden) and their grooves are just as tasty (if not more so) than $1 cinammon buns. I should really stop with this whole Sweden/Ikea thing because it truly makes me seem like the only thing I know about the country is its mass-produced-yet-stylishly-designed-furniture. There’s much more to Sweden than that – like their awesome jazz tradition that’s one of the best in Europe. Or their porn. Stuff like that. I’ll stop now. All you really need to know is that “Got To Go” kicks serious ass – has that same, feel good, rockin’ appeal as The Roots’ and Cody Chestnutt’s “The Seed 2.0.” This is the kind of music that N.E.R.D. should have been making instead of that wack second album.